By Naeisha Rose

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz recommended approving last week the rezoning and site selection of the NYPD’s new 116th Precinct station house.

The new precinct will be located at 242-20 North Conduit Ave. in Rosedale, according to the borough president’s office.

“The need for this new 116th Precinct was first identified generations ago by the families of Laurelton, Rosedale, Brookville and Springfield Gardens,” said Katz. “The plans are moving forward expeditiously toward fruition.”

The borough president’s approval came after the NYPD presented its application two weeks ago at her Land Use Public Hearing at Borough Hall in Kew Gardens.

The proposal would rezone a parking lot within Community Board 13 into a two-story building that would be 45,000 square feet.

“Once built, the creation of the new NYPD 116th Precinct station house will help fulfill that need by improving response times and having a more proactive presence closer to the neighborhoods it protects and serves,” said Katz.

The project was funded in full by the mayor’s office with a commitment of $70 million in capital for the new precinct and station house.

With Katz’s affirmative recommendation, the project can now move forward to the City Planning Commission and the City Council for review.

Another purpose of the new precinct is to provide relief for the 105th Precinct, which is one of the largest in the city. The precinct, which is fifth in precinct population and fifth in geographic size out of 77 precincts, covers nearly 13 square miles in southeast Queens and parts of Nassau County from Glen Oaks to Rosedale.

The 105th Precinct’s geographical challenges made it difficult for it to fully serve that large swath of southeast Queens, which also includes Queens Village, Cambria Heights, Bellaire, Hollis, New Hyde Park and Floral Park.

According to Inspector Jeffrey Schiff in an August 2017 meeting, the 105th Precinct has a 6 minute and 58 seconds response time.

By relinquishing the eastern most parts of its coverage area (Rosedale, Springfield Gardens, Brookville and Laurelton) to the 116th Precinct, the 105th Precinct could possibly reduce its response time in the future.

Renderings for precinct depict as stretching from 242nd to 245th streets on North Conduit Ave., and will run parallel to the Rosedale LIRR train station.

The creation of the precinct was first included in the borough president’s 2014 Strategic Policy Statement.

The new station house will have a staff of 400 who will report to work on three eight-hour shifts, will include a community space on the first floor and have 163 parking spaces, according to the ULURP application from the NYPD.

The station house will have a green efficient design.

Reach reporter Naeisha Rose by e-mail at nrose@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4573.